Complaint: Students were told to canvass

Charge involves override vote, uniformed Sunnyside athletes

The state attorney general has been asked to investigate
allegations that Sunnyside High School athletes were told to report
for a weekend practice, in uniform, then directed to pass out
literature in support of the district's upcoming bond and override
election.

On Oct. 17, the Pima County school superintendent's office
received a complaint from an uncle of a Sunnyside High athlete
alleging the students were required to attend a sports practice by
their coach on Oct. 15.

"The student athletes were required to wear their official
uniforms when they attended the practice at an off-campus field.
The student athletes were provided with leaflets and flyers in
favor of the override and bond elections by their coach(es). They
were then to distribute the information in the local
neighborhoods," the document says.

The uncle said that when his nephew was asked why he
participated, the boy responded, "If coach says so, then you do
it."

Sunnyside Unified School District is holding an $88 million bond
measure and a 10 percent budget override vote Nov. 8. District
officials and board members have said that if the bond and override
elections fail, the district would face program cuts and
layoffs.

Linda Arzoumanian, county school superintendent, turned the
matter over to the state Attorney General's Office once the Pima
County Attorney's Office advised of a potential conflict of
interest in investigating the allegation. Amy Rezzonico, press
secretary to Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne, did not return
phone calls seeking comment.

Arzoumanian sent a letter to Sunnyside Superintendent Manuel L.
Isquierdo informing him about the complaint. She cited the
potential violation of state law: "An employee of a school district
… who is acting as an agent of or working in an official capacity
for the school district … may not give pupils written materials to
influence the outcome of an election or advocate support for or
opposition to pending or proposed legislation."

Students are allowed to distribute pamphlets about an election
on their own time and under their own free will, but a district
employee cannot give students materials at a school-sanctioned
event and then tell students to go and distribute the materials,
said Ricky Hernández, chief financial officer for Arzoumanian's
office.

Isquierdo did not return calls seeking comment, but the
district's assistant director for information technologies, Mary
Veres, sent an email with letters Isquierdo wrote to district
parents and to Arzoumanian in response to the complaint.

In his letter to Arzoumanian, he wrote that the district has
received a similar call and had already started an
investigation.

"Please know that we take this type of parent complaint very
seriously and will make sure we have the necessary messaging going
out to administration and staff," Isquierdo wrote.

But in his letter to parents, Isquierdo characterized the
concern as being about student athletes who want to volunteer with
the campaign.

"It is understandable that students might wish to show their
support in the election initiatives as success or failure will
directly affect them," he wrote to parents. "To ensure that any
discussion of civic activities is very clear, we will communicate
in writing and orally with coaching staff about volunteer
participation of student athletes."

SUSD Governing Board President Louie Gonzales said he did not
know anything about the complaint, and now that it is filed with
the state Attorney General's Office he will wait to hear word from
that office, and turn all matters over to the district's
attorney.